Skip to content

PoliticsDeveloping

Peter Thiel says US should not have launched war with Iran

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel criticized the US war with Iran in remarks at a private lecture on October 12, according to audio obtained by Politico’s Decoded and reported by Business Insider, The Daily Beast and The Daily Caller. Thiel is reported to have said he is skeptical of the war and that “we should not have done it,” and that “there were a lot of mistakes that were made.” The outlets also report that he still supports President Donald Trump. The remarks were made less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Peter Thiel said in audio of an October 12 private lecture that the US should not have launched the war with Iran.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    Business Insider
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  2. Audio of the remarks was obtained by Politico’s Decoded.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The Daily Beast
    Left
    Business Insider
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  3. Thiel also said he still supports Donald Trump and that there were a lot of mistakes in the war.

    Reported byLeft1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Business Insider
    Far Right
    The Daily Caller

  4. The remarks were made less than two weeks before the midterm elections.

    One outletBusiness Insider· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report Peter Thiel’s criticism of the Iran war in audio from an October 12 lecture. Left outlets frame it as a break with Trump, the Far Left Daily Beast as a leak; the Far Right Daily Caller leads with Thiel’s words and his GOP megadonor status.

  • the left

    2 outlets

    Left headlines present Thiel’s remarks as a rift with Trump; the Far Left Daily Beast goes further, framing them as a leak that caught him turning on the president.

    Peter Thiel breaks with Trump over Iran war: 'We should not have done it'
    Business InsiderLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    1 outlet

    The only right-side article, from the Far Right Daily Caller, leads with Thiel’s own words and calls him a GOP megadonor, focusing on his criticism of the war.

    ‘Lot Of Mistakes’: GOP Megadonor Peter Thiel Criticizes Trump’s Decision To Launch War
    The Daily CallerFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left2

    grasping to maintain powerCaught

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    grasping to maintain powerMore neutral: trying to keep its majority in Congress

    Grasping implies desperation, while the reporting only needs to say the party is trying to keep its congressional majority.

    …less than two weeks before the midterm elections in which Trump's party is grasping to maintain power in Congress.

    Used byBusiness Insider (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    CaughtMore neutral: Peter Thiel criticizes Iran war in leaked audio

    Caught implies Thiel was exposed doing something wrong, while the story is that he made remarks captured in audio.

    MAGA Billionaire Caught Turning on Trump in Leaked Audio

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets

Leads with

  • Thiel breaking with Trump
  • the war as a defining policy decision
  • Thiel’s continued support for Trump
See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    MAGA Billionaire Loaded verb“Caught”Caught implies Thiel was exposed doing something wrong, while the story is that he made remarks captured in audio.More neutral: Peter Thiel criticizes Iran war in leaked audioDisagree with this highlight? Turning on Trump in Leaked Audio

    Billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, one of Donald Trump’s most influential backers, has privately delivered a blunt verdict on the president’s war with Iran. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)
  • Business InsiderLeft

    Peter Thiel breaks with Trump over Iran war: 'We should not have done it'

    Peter Thiel criticized the war with Iran, but highlighted his continued support of Donald Trump.

    Read at Business Insider (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Thiel’s own words on mistakes
  • Thiel as a GOP megadonor
  • Thiel’s continued support for Trump
See the headline from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Daily CallerFar Right

    ‘Lot Of Mistakes’: GOP Megadonor Peter Thiel Criticizes Trump’s Decision To Launch War

    Peter Thiel, a right-wing billionaire and major GOP donor, privately expressed skepticism of the Iran War and said that the U.S. has made many mistakes throughout it, according to audio obtained by Politico. …

    Read at The Daily Caller (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Business Insider, Oct 21, 9:11 PM EDT

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    13 hr 29 min later

    Its first report, Oct 22, 10:41 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Business InsiderLeftOct 21, 9:11 PM EDT
  2. The Daily BeastFar LeftOct 22, 5:56 AM EDT
  3. The Daily CallerFar RightOct 22, 10:41 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page